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Use of 360-Cameras in Civil Engineering Projects

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This is a guest blog by Nick Heim, P.E.

360-CamerasCivil engineers are designers and builders of everything related to infrastructure: roads, bridges, dams, ports, and many others.

While construction and maintenance of any asset happens in the physical world, there is a lot of work in the digital world that accompanies it.

Today, I would like to talk about one of the tools that is changing the way data is captured in the field: 360 cameras.

Note: For more information and insights related to this blog post, please refer to Episode #05 of the AEC Engineering and Technology (AECTECH) Podcast.

1. What Is a 360-Camera?

An omnidirectional camera (from “omni,” meaning all), also known as 360-degree camera, is a camera having a field of view that covers approximately the entire sphere—or at least a full circle—in the horizontal plane (source: Wikipedia).

The primary benefit of a 360-camera is that, unlike a conventional camera with a field of view less than 360 degrees, the entirety of a scene or area can be captured with one instead of multiple photos.

This can have a multitude of benefits and use cases, which we will talk about next.

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Scrum Techniques for Productive Project Teams (Part 2)

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This is a guest post by Tevis Holzer, P.E.

Scrum In Part One of this article series, keys to collaboration for engineering project teams were highlighted as Team, Communication, and Results. These three keys are fundamentals of the Scrum mindset for project management, promoting efficiency to meet market demand while encouraging growth of our engineering companies and team members.

If you’ve investigated Scrum since reading Part One, you likely realized there is an ocean of information stemming from (and catered toward) software development rather than the AEC industry. Though the techniques originated in software development, Scrum has been successfully adapted into several industries, AEC included. Not all Scrum methodologies are applicable in the AEC industry, but there are key concepts we can apply in our workplace. In fact, many teams are already using some aspects of Scrum, whether they know it or not.

How You May Already be Using Scrum Principles

Scrum Project Management focuses on frequent check and adjust cycles, preventing the team from going too far down one path or procrastinating on progress before being corrected. Many engineering and architecture firms already practice a form of this by implementing submittal reviews at 30, 60, and 90% complete. The design team provides progress documents, such as drawings and specifications, to the client or governing agency at these milestones for review and to ensure the design meets expectations. However, on large effort projects, several months can pass between each milestone, leaving the design team with minimal direction in between. Frequent Scrum or Huddle meetings help keep the team focused on incremental progress toward the same goals.

Scrum

Project teams

Scrum Meetings or ‘Huddles’

Huddle meetings are the pulse of the team’s efforts. These brief and direct meetings are intentionally designed to drive team progress. Each team member reports on the following three updates:

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Solving the Equation of the Purpose of Life

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Purpose of LifeI know what you’re thinking. The title of this article is one of those “click-bait” titles, intended to get potential readers to click on the article, which never actually delivers on the teaser title. Well, I promise you that isn’t the case. What I’m going to describe to you in this post is what I have found to be the equation for living a fulfilling and happy life — and one of purpose.

If you’re wondering how a 42-year-old engineer turned executive coach could all of a sudden solve the equation that many people spend a lifetime trying to figure out, I will explain that too. Honestly, I really figured it out through reading many books and observing many happy people — not necessarily successful (depending on one’s definition of success), but happy people.

Some of the many books I have read that have helped me to discover the purpose of life include: “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari” by Robin Sharma, “Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way” by Dan Buettner, “The Alchemist” AND “Manuscript Found in Accra” by Paulo Coehlo, “The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living” by Dr. Howard Cutler along with the Dali Lama, “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod, and “Doing Good Better” by William MacAskill. I’ve also been influenced by Sam Harris, creator of the Waking Up App, which has helped me to develop a meditation habit and has turned me on to many other influential people.

The Purpose of Life

The question of the purpose of life has been pondered forever, and if you Google the question, you’ll find many different answers, but I’d like to offer you my belief on it. I truly believe that the purpose of life is to be happy or cultivate happiness in oneself and maintain it. This does not mean you can’t be sad from time to time or express other emotions, but the idea is that you want to be a happy person, most of the time.

Purpose of Life

Now, I do realize that this answer may bring up thoughts or other questions, most notably:

  • What does happiness mean?
  • How does one achieve happiness?
  • How does one maintain happiness?

So, let’s tackle these questions, and the answers will lead us to the equation that I promised you.

What Does Happiness Mean?

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Adaptive Project Management with Scrum Techniques (Part 1)

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This is a guest post by Tevis Holzer, P.E.

Scrum Techniques

As the quantity and complexity of projects continue to rise across the industry, improving the efficiency for engineering teams is critical to meet demand. When current project demands already over-utilize staff, embracing the growth mindset required to provide career opportunities to staff can also be difficult. Efficiency gains relieve the pressure from current demands and open the doors to new markets and clients, which then provide career growth opportunities. Engineering teams have several buckets of resources to dip into to create efficiency, including People, Processes, and Tools.

A blend of these three resources is likely required to adapt and evolve with the industry. And as engineers, we are attracted to solving problems with Processes and Tools. Processes aid in streamlining tasks for similar projects but require significant effort to establish and maintain. Tools (e.g., innovative technology and software) often allow us to perform tasks faster but also require specialized staff and training. At first glance, we think of filling the People bucket by hiring more people. However, a trickling workforce pipeline and time-consuming onboarding for new hires can make this option unrealistic. This article series will focus on an often-overlooked portion of the People resource bucket: Team Collaboration. More specifically, this series explores how an approach to project management using Scrum techniques can create efficiencies and even reduce workplace stress.

Before digging into Scrum techniques of project management and how they promote collaboration, let’s establish some keys to fostering a collaborative environment. These keys seem obvious, but the consequences of their absence are detrimental. Like the three legs of a stool, these three keys are interdependent: collaboration will not occur without each of them.

1. Team

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Mastering Productivity: 3 Essential Hacks for Engineers

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This is a guest post by Tiffani Teachey

Mastering Productivity

“Time is not refundable; use it with intention.” ~ Unknown

As an engineer, your job requires a high level of focus and attention to detail. With so many tasks and projects to manage, it can be challenging to stay productive throughout the day. The good news is that there are many productivity hacks that can help you streamline your workflow, maximize your efficiency, and get more done in less time. In this blog, we’ll explore three essential productivity hacks that every engineer should know. Whether you’re struggling with distractions, need to prioritize your tasks, or want to automate repetitive tasks, these hacks will help you with mastering productivity and achieving your goals.

Minimize Distractions

Distractions can derail your productivity and make it harder to stay focused on your work. To minimize distractions, implement the following:

  • Turn off notifications on your phone and computer
  • Use noise-canceling headphones to block out noise
  • Close unnecessary tabs and apps on your computer
  • Work in a quiet, distraction-free environment

Use the Pomodoro Technique

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Leveraging Social Media to Boost Your Personal Engineering Brand

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This is a guest blog by Nick Heim, P.E.

Social MediaCivil engineers bring a diverse set of viewpoints, skills, and knowledge to the table.

Because of the impact our work has on society, there are many benefits to sharing our expertise outside of our day-to-day work – for our professional colleagues, our clients, and the general public.

Today, I would like to give some tips on how you can build your personal brand as a civil engineer using social media.

1. Establish a Niche

Social media is a tool that, to this point, has not been utilized very heavily by engineering professionals. I have heard and seen several reasons for this.

One way I have gotten past my personal reservations about the use of social media is by talking about topics that I feel that I can speak confidently about, or have something to share that others would find valuable.

social media

Some niches that I have seen executed successfully by Civil Engineering professionals:

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Make New Friends, but Keep the Old; One Is Silver and the Other Gold

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Make New Friends, but Keep the Old is a blog post by Pamela A. Scott

New FriendsIf you were, are, or knew a Girl Scout, you’ve heard this tune. It is a classic in Girl Scouts. And it fits with today’s blog.

When I work with younger engineers, we invariably talk about business development and networking. And we should. Business development and networking are critical to a company’s success. And to your career path.

Senior engineers know this. They know they have to develop conversational skills, scope out prospects at networking events, and build relationships that bring in business.

Younger engineers know they have to develop those skills, but they have a vague notion of how or why to do that.

Before I give you ideas to work with, check out this true example of how networking today can lead to business now and years down the road.

Networking pays off long-term

I spent years as an associate member of the ACEC (American Council of Engineering Companies). I served on committees, presented workshops at conferences and PDH days, and got to meet lots of people.

At a monthly ACEC luncheon, Noah Smith, an exec with an AEC company, sat down next to me. “Pam, I know who you are,” Noah said. “We’ve talked here and there, but I don’t know what you do. Would you enlighten me?”

“Sure, Noah. Let me tell you how I helped a client this morning.” I took a few minutes to do that. (Emphasis on a “few minutes,” not an elevator pitch.)

Noah handed me two business cards and said, “Call me in the morning. I’ve got someone for you to work with.”

I followed up the next day. That luncheon led to me coaching a director for three years. And that led to me working with that director when he went off to start his own business as a CEO years later. So far, that simple conversation with Noah has led to other contacts and thousands of dollars in work with awesome people.

Networking is more important than you think. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

What I hear from younger engineers

This is what I’m told: “I don’t really have a role at our project meetings. Our senior engineer is going to talk with their senior architect and other senior people involved in the job. There’s no way for me to add something to the discussion.”

  1. Be a sponge. Watch, listen, and learn. Watch how the senior professionals are interacting. Notice their body language. Listen to what they’re saying and how they’re saying it. Are they treating each other with respect or is there some friction, even hostility in the room? Be a sponge and soak up as much info as you can get simply by being in the room. It’s called on-the-job training. It involves skills in listening, note-taking, and reading body language.
  2. Who are the other younger staff in the room? Do you know them? Should you? Networking is about building relationships. Is there a benefit to you getting to know your peers? You bet. Like you, those younger staff members will one day be senior projects managers or principals. Ten years from now you will no longer be the young kid in the room. You’ll have a role to play in projects meetings. People will want to talk with you because you have the experience and knowledge needed for the meeting.
  3. “Who do you know who needs to know me?” I asked an ACEC exec that question. She introduced me to the woman who became my very first coaching client and life-long friend.
  4. Who do you know that you can introduce others to? As humans we naturally reciprocate when somebody does or says something nice to us. Build your network of contacts so that you can respond when somebody asks, “Who do you know who could help me with this?”
  5. People don’t forget you if you’re interesting. When you go to a networking event, look for ways to meet people, especially if the event has interesting activities off-site. Get to know your peers and potential clients as people.

I recently heard from a CEO I met on a deep-sea fishing trip sponsored by the Georgia chapter of ACEC 20 years ago. I remember watching his little kids having fun on the boat. Anytime he and I have talked since then, I ask about his kids. Twenty years later.

Then there’s my buddy David. We became friends through ACEC. He invited me to be the opening speaker on communications for the chapter’s Future Leaders program. I did that for seven years and met wonderful people. And David also introduced me to his boss, who brought me in for workshops with her executive team.

I hope you get my point in this blog. “Make new friends but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold.”

Listen to the Girl Scout song: Make New Friends
Be a Pro at Networking Activities
Mind Your Manners at Networking Events
Communicate Effectively While Networking

About the Author

give feedbackPamela A. Scott is an executive coach and founder of MentorLoft, a coaching firm that works with CEOs and execs to prepare their Next Gen leaders to run their company. Pamela specializes in coaching engineers and CEOs of professional service firms. For more information, visit www.mentorloft.com.

We would love to hear any questions you might have or stories you might share on your networking strategies and the things you do to make new friends.

Please leave your comments, feedback or questions in the section below.

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To your success,

Anthony Fasano, PE, LEED AP

The Power of Culture: Why It Trumps Strategy Every Day

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power of culture

In this article, I’d like to discuss the importance of building and maintaining the right culture in your firm. It’s the most important thing you can do.

This is a column I send to engineering executives, learning, and HR professionals, on or about the first day of each month, to help them best develop their most important resource: their people. If you’d like to receive a copy, please message me.

culture

How Bill Walsh transformed the San Francisco 49ers from the laughingstock of the NFL to a powerhouse in less than 1,000 days.

When Bill Walsh was hired as the 49ers head football coach in 1979, he knew that there was only one way to turn that franchise around, and it wasn’t about finding the best football players in the world. He needed to instill a culture and attitude of winning in every member of the 49ers organization.

So, Walsh spent many hours creating a Standard of Performance that consisted of 17 principles that he honed over the years. This Standard of Performance was to be followed by EVERY person in the organization, from the receptionist to the now hall-of-fame quarterback Joe Montana.

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How Engineers Can Break Through Career and Personal Development Barriers

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This is a guest post by Jeff Perry, MBA

We all have something that feels like if we could change or get over it and turn the weakness into a strength, it would unlock all sorts of progress and opportunities for us.

Uncovering what this change is and how to overcome it so we can move forward with purpose and confidence is what we are focused on today!

What Is Holding You Back?

Before you can start making changes, you first need to know what you need to change.

For me, it’s being present. With clients, with my work, and with my family. All too frequently my wife is like “Hey, be with us…” or I lose myself in the latest sports news update instead of remaining focused on the work I’m doing. Yep, there is work to do!

Additionally, here are just a few examples I have seen from people I have worked with:

  • An experienced engineer about three months into his new job at Blue Origin recognized that if he could effectively create better professional relationships, it would enable him to reach his goal of making the shift to work in a new group that is working on a project he is VERY interested in (think long-term living in space).
  • A senior data engineering leader recognized had already needed to take time off to get her health in check. She needed to figure out how to grow her team in a fast-moving startup while also staying healthy and creating boundaries for herself. Basically, not taking it all on herself and saying “yes” to everything.
  • An owner of an engineering business was taking it all on and losing himself in his work. He needed to build his team and create expectations with his clients and those he worked with while delegating and enabling his team to take on more responsibility. This would keep him from burning out (he got MAJOR sick for a while), and allow him to enjoy more time with his wife and kids.

So what’s your big change? What is the NUMBER ONE thing that would help you unlock your potential?

Why You Haven’t Made the Change

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The Four Major ‘Shifts’ Changing Everything About Leadership and Firm Success

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This is a guest post by Peter C. Atherton, P.E.

ShiftsLike most large-scale systemic events, March 2020 gave “official birth” to a new era of work and life — one with new rules, new ways of thinking, and lots of big change.

Among the change we’ve all seen and experienced for several years now, there have been a number of major “shifts.”

These shifts have already altered the workplace, marketplace, and recruiting space.

These shifts have also fundamentally changed the way we must lead and develop our teams and organizations if we want to sustainably grow and prosper in this new era — and do so making a real difference and not burning out. All of which is possible, should we choose to design for it.

“These shifts have fundamentally changed the way we must lead and develop our teams and organizations if we want to sustainably grow and prosper in this new era.”— Peter C. Atherton, P.E.

The four major shifts are listed here, and each is described further below:

  1. The redefinition of winning
  2. The shift of work from “place” to “space”
  3. The shift to what I call the “third way”
  4. The shift of performance from manager to teams and team success

The first two are more societal shifts and the second two are strategic and tactical shifts that we must make in response as leaders and organizations.

Shift #1: The Redefinition of Winning

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